Crime & Safety
Homicide Ruled in Death of Father Found In Car At Regency Square
Sean Michael Buchanan was found dead in his car behind AMC The Regency 20 May 30. Based on the medical examiner's report, the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office has ruled his death the result of homicidal violence.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to correct the information about the man viewed in the video, who is now identified as a person of interest who might have information regarding the crime. Details of the crime have been updated in response to corrections and clarifications issued by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office to its initial reports.
Detectives have determined homicide is the cause of death of a young father found in his car in an embankment after a night out at the movies at the Regency Square shopping center in Brandon.
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According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Larry McKinnon, Sean Michael Buchanan, 26, was found "conscious, but incoherent and confused” at around 10:30 p.m. May 30 behind the shopping center, where he had attended the movies at AMC The Regency 20.
McKinnon said Buchanan was transported to Tampa General Hospital, where he died in surgery.
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“The medical examiner’s office completed an autopsy and based on that autopsy it was determined that the trauma to the upper torso was the result of homicidal violence,” said sheriff’s office spokesperson Debbie Carter.
The office has released a video showing a man wearing a gray T-shirt, baseball cap and jeans who "was seen in the area when this incident would have occurred and may have information regarding this crime." Anyone with information to help identify the man is asked to call the sheriff's office at 813-247-8200.
The shopping center is across the street from the Westfield Brandon shopping mall. Buchanan lived at 6905 South Riverchase Drive in Temple Terrace.
Buchanan performed on the Brandon Idol stage and in numerous community theater and Riverview High School theater productions. He leaves behind an infant daughter. (See related coverage, including photos of Buchanan performing on stage, “Regency Square Death Investigated as Victim’s Vice, Passion Remembered.”)
Detectives said he had been at the movies, at AMC The Regency 20, and was discovered in his vehicle with trauma to the upper body that was "not consistent with a traffic crash." Deputies responded to the scene, 2429 West Brandon Blvd., to investigate after a passerby had reported seeing the crashed vehicle.
Anyone who might have seen the victim or the victim's vehicle on May 30, between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., is asked to call the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office at 813-247-8200.
